The Memphis Grizzlies will face the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night and ahead of the matchup, head coach Ty Lue spoke out on what the gameplan will be to contain Ja Morant, who won Player of the Week honors instantly after returning from a 25-game suspension. Lue also heaped praise on Ja, who he believes is good for the game of basketball.
Via ClutchPoints:
“It's gonna be more of a team defense. 1-on-1 is gonna be tough… It's gotta be collectively… I'm happy that he's back, happy that he's doing well, and it's good for the game of basketball to have Ja back.”
Ja is balling out and proving exactly why he's the franchise cornerstone for the Grizzlies, averaging 28.5 points, 8.5 assists, and 5.5 rebounds in four games thus far. In his first contest back, Morant won it at the buzzer against the New Orleans Pelicans with an acrobatic layup.
The Clippers will surely have their hands full trying to slow down Ja, who is electrifying, especially in transition. As Lue said, stopping him 1-on-1 is nearly impossible, so it's going to take a collective effort from the entire LA defensive unit. If there were any doubts about Ja's importance to Memphis, they've gone 4-0 since he returned, moving up to 10-19 on the year.
But before the Grizzlies take on the Clips, they will be in action on Thursday in the front end of a back-to-back against the defending champion Denver Nuggets. That will be a very tough task, but we'll see if they can keep their unbeaten record with Ja intact heading into Friday.
Follow Us
Subscribe